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The Miracle of Science

Friday, September 21, 2007

Galileo Would Totally S*** a Brick

So, humanity has been working on making things fly like insects and birds for - what? - millennia? And working toward that endeavor seriously since Galileo.

It’s a crazy dream of humanity for thousands and thousands of years, and now I see the damn solution to the problem - a toy that mimics the flight of a dragonfly - on a commercial on a basic cable station during, appropriately enough, an airing of the new series of Doctor Who.

Ladies and gentlemen, the future is here.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Question and Answer Time with Drunkle John

Apparently Google works, because some enterprising soul found a two-year old post of mine about infusing vodkas and had some questions about the construction of cayenne vodka. Well, Drunkle John is here to help!!

Amelia S. writes:

> Hello,
>
> I read your blog post from a loooong time ago about making infused vodkas.  Apparently, you have cornered the online market for cayenne pepper vodka recipes.  I grew some cayennes this year and want to make vodka, so I have a couple of questions for you:
>
> 1) If I only used a single cayenne, do you think that would tone down the heat?
> 2) Just out of curiosity, what do you think would happen if I left the pepper in the bottle permanently?  I ask because I think it would be pretty.  But, perhaps, deadly.
> 3) How did your ginger, orange, cranberry, and poblano vodkas turn out??
>
> Loved your post.  Will probably link to it in my blog soon enough. 
>
> - Amelia

Sunday, June 03, 2007

The purity of essence of our precious category tags

Patton has accused me of being overly concerned about wasting a scarce natural resource.  The category tag.  In this, of course, he is completely wrong.  Naturally, I could have argued that over-categorizing a post dilutes the utility of tags.  And I would have been right.  But that wasn’t the point.  I was attacking him on aesthetic grounds, and just to stick a stick in his eye. 

Just to prove that I am not some sort of homo-tree-hugging-enviro-commie, this post, which really is about everything, is tagged with every category we have.  And, when I have a free moment, I’ll add some new categories, and add them to this post.

So there.

To Love Science is to Hate Freedom, and Vice Versa

With my first kid’s arrival growing ever more imminent, I have like any responsible father been looking forward to the day when my young son (for a son it is) gets his first chemistry set. More even then that, I have been looking forward to the day when the boy successfully blows something up using ingredients found in said chemistry set.

But apparently, that makes me a terrorist. Wired has a spectacular and detailed article about the difficulties facing home science enthusiasts these days - to buy a couple Erlenmeyer flasks is to be flagged as a producer of crystal meth, and to go so far as to purchase sulfur, potassium perchlorate, and powdered aluminum in one go is to presumptively contravene the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.  We are living in strange days if the Feds are raiding private homes and carting off science stuff in the name of national security, but it’s undeniably happening. As a consequence, the chilling effects are making it harder and harder (in this age where the drumbeat goes “America is losing its edge in science!") to do nifty stuff at home that kids can take with them to MIT, CalTech, or, hell, even little Hiram College, the Harvard of the Midwest.

American society in general has taken some great steps forward in ensuring the safety of young children. Many of the laws enacted to protect kids more or less do that job. But for my dollar, just as I oughta be able to smoke a fat doob in the comfort of my own living room and watch Blazing Saddles, and just as I oughta be able to procure Vioxx for myself if that’s what takes care of the chronic pain that keeps me from any kind of rewarding life and I’m fully aware of the risks of heart attack that I am taking on, I oughta be able to spend some time with my kid making stinks, crystals, and small scale bangs in the garage.

Glenn Reynolds has been posting recently about a few books that I’m surely going to keep around the house: the recently published The Dangerous Book for Boys and 211 Things a Bright Boy Can Do, and The American Boy’s Handy Book, originally published in 1888 and featuring all manner of entertainingly dated knowledge like how to make a blowgun, and the rudiments of home taxidermy.

I can’t in good conscience raise children who can’t use a screwdriver, can’t light a fire with two matches, have never made a home volcano, and have never had the oh-shit thrill of packing a D size rocket engine inside a B-rated model rocket and watching that sonofabitch fly high and drift at least a half-mile off course into the housing development three treelines away. It wouldn’t be American.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Fruit Flies 1, Humans 0

In a fascinating breakthrough, scientists have determined that the lowly fruit fly, subject of the predations of generations of high school geneticists, has a tiny sliver of free will.  Remarkable! 

And proof that at least some in the scientist community are aware of the possible threats of continued research in this area, one said,

Future research delving further into free will could lead to more advanced robots, scientists added. The result, joked neurobiologist Björn Brembs from the Free University Berlin, could be “world robot domination.”

Naturally, the reporter assumed that the Brembs was joking.  We know different. 

Despite the lingering threat of robot domination of our species, this research does poke at some interesting corners of the human condition.  Ironically, though, the researchers noted that the behavior that caused them to suppose that the flies’ behavior was less than completely random followed another mathematical pattern, that of Levy’s distribution:

Flies use this procedure to find meals, as do albatrosses, monkeys and deer. Scientists have found similar patterns in the flow of e-mails, letters and money, and in the paintings of Jackson Pollock

Now, there must be some sort of biological process at work to create this activity, and if there is a biological basis, then it is hard to make the argument that free will is at work.  The particular results might vary from fly to fly, but the process is determined.  Just like a random process will be different each time, but the process is entirely random. 

And comparing a fly’s behavior to that of Jackson Pollock is not a particularly strong argument for free will, either.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Science! Does It Exist?

Predicting weather is a strong science in the 10 day window, with that being slowly pushed upwards by distributed supercomputing and better algorithms. It’s being held back by the current stall in Moore’s law, which may be with us for a little while.

Of course not all scientists say the same thing! But you have to look at the overall picture here, and do the tough thing—place numbers on it. If only one out of every thousand scientists working in this area has a serious, contrary view supported by what they’ve written…

It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong, because science is what it is—and nothing is certain. But we have to look at the probabilities involved here...and right now the probabilities are showing that climate change is happening and that the basis is human. The most recent report from a few months back significantly tightened up the causative network that underlies all the science.

So we have a river of probability running forward and the center path goes through very scary territory. At this point the science can’t say _exactly_ what’s happening, but the distribution curve on the likely events is fairly well known.

Engaging on this requires more than an assertion that there are contrary views. Bring them forward! The web is a beautiful thing. But watch out for the Heartland institute!

Monday, April 16, 2007

That spider plant is smarter than me

Just read a fascinating article outlining the way that chlorophyll makes use of quantum processes in photosynthesis.  It was known that photosynthesis converts the energy of the sun into sugar, and did it with remarkable efficiency.  What wasn’t known was exactly how this happened.  But some big brains have delved into the matter, and this is what they’ve come up with:

Through photosynthesis, green plants and cyanobacteria are able to transfer sunlight energy to molecular reaction centers for conversion into chemical energy with nearly 100-percent efficiency. Speed is the key - the transfer of the solar energy takes place almost instantaneously so little energy is wasted as heat. How photosynthesis achieves this near instantaneous energy transfer is a long-standing mystery that may have finally been solved...

“We have obtained the first direct evidence that remarkably long-lived wavelike electronic quantum coherence plays an important part in energy transfer processes during photosynthesis,” said Graham Fleming, the principal investigator for the study. “This wavelike characteristic can explain the extreme efficiency of the energy transfer because it enables the system to simultaneously sample all the potential energy pathways and choose the most efficient one.”

...Electronic spectroscopy measurements made on a femtosecond (millionths of a billionth of a second) time-scale showed these oscillations meeting and interfering constructively, forming wavelike motions of energy (superposition states) that can explore all potential energy pathways simultaneously and reversibly, meaning they can retreat from wrong pathways with no penalty. This finding contradicts the classical description of the photosynthetic energy transfer process as one in which excitation energy hops from light-capturing pigment molecules to reaction center molecules step-by-step down the molecular energy ladder.

“The classical hopping description of the energy transfer process is both inadequate and inaccurate,” said Fleming. “It gives the wrong picture of how the process actually works, and misses a crucial aspect of the reason for the wonderful efficiency.”

Now I’m no expert, but the bits I italicized in the quote above seem to be saying that every single damn molecule of chlorophyll in every cell of every plant on earth is a highly sophisticated (if single purpose) quantum computer.  That’s pretty damn amazing.  And if that is the case, I am sure that if we poke around a little more, we might find other examples of this sort of thing.  Like in mitochondria, or in neurons.  Wow.

Monday, March 05, 2007

Lies, Damned Lies and Hockey Sticks

Here’s something I find interesting.  And by interesting, I mean offensive and retarded.  Lately, the category of “Global Warming Skeptics” - nomenclature that affords a degree of dignity to those lumped under its rubric - has seen a subtle but significant change.  They are now “Global Warming Deniers.” This, I assume, is meant to put those who wonder whether or not we are actually headed toward a local anti-Fimbulwinter, or even whether if we are headed toward that grim fate we have ourselves or nature to blame, into the same mental box as Holocaust deniers.  Now, Holocaust denial is offensive and retarded.  Anyone who doubts the historical reality of the holocaust is a malevolent delusional fuckwit.  Some people would have us feel the same about something that might happen in the future - or, being generous, even if it’s certain to happen is not at all certain where to point the unerring finger of blame.

The National Post of Canada has a series of articles up on these Global Warming Deniers.  I’ve read a couple, and the tone of the stories is odd.  Go read them, and see if you see what I see.  I’ll talk more on this later. 

[Wik] It seems that this sort of thing is in the wind, as BBC 4 is about to run a big documentary on the subject this Thursday.  I wonder if we’ll be able to see that here in the States.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Remote Control Pigeons of Doom

I couldn’t top the title, so I stole it.  It seems that evil and mad scientists in China have created the world’s first remote control pigeon.  No more worrying about running out of batteries with your rc plane, just throw some crumbs on the ground to refuel your pigeon.  Then, send them out on bombing missions. 

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Two great tastes that taste great together

A former Canadian defense minister is calling for governments around the world to release the alien technology that they’ve gathered, and use that knowledge to fight global warming.  Well, hey, why not?

This story makes several implicit comments: 1) on the seriousness of the Canadian military efforts of the last few decades, 2) solving magical problems with magical solutions is appropriate, and 3) people assume that alien technology will be better just because it’s alien.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Sneaky Martians

Hiding their air from us, apparently.  New measurements and calculations from the orbiting Mars spy satellites indicate that Mars is losing about 20 grams of atmosphere a second.  Which is not a whole hell of a lot.  Even adding it all up over the course of billions of years, its still not a whole hell of a lot. 

Extrapolating this measurement back over 3.5 billion years, they estimate that only a small fraction, 0.2 to 4 millibars, of carbon dioxide and a few centimeters of water could have been lost to solar winds during that timeframe.

Which means that either Mars never had the thicker, wetter atmosphere we think it did in the past, or else that atmosphere was not blown away atom by atom by the solar wind as we thought it did.  Either way, something we though was so, weren’t.  If Mars did in fact have that thick atmosphere, it must be sequestered away somewhere in, around, or in the pockets of the planet.  Which is a positive thought for all those budding junior scientists with their home terraforming kits.  Martian air, perhaps hidden in underground reservoirs, or bound up in the crust or whatnot, would at least theoretically be amenable to be reintroduced into the atmosphere.  Unless a third theory is true - that Mars’ atmosphere was blown clear off the planet by a large meteor strike.  So, to sum up, Mars doesn’t have air, and is losing it slowly.  It may or may not have air hidden.  Mars may or may not have had a thick atmosphere in the past.  Mars may or may not have been hit by an atmosphere-stealing asteroid.  See how our knowledge grows?

[Wik] I find it interesting, btw, that catastrophic explanations for what we see in the solar system are becoming more common.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Life’s Embarrassments - cont’d.

Some pharmacist should lose a license over this, I guess.  Either that or a zoologist, if such even have licenses.

Never give an iguana Viagra

Thu Jan 25, 2007 12:04pm ET

ANTWERP, Belgium (Reuters) - Mozart, an iguana with an erection that has lasted for over a week, will have his penis amputated in the next couple of days.

Veterinarians at Antwerp’s Aquatopia had sought to treat the animal’s problem, but decided removal was the only solution because of the risk of infection. The good news for Mozart and his mates is that male iguanas have two penises.

Mozart, sitting on the shoulders of his keeper as camera crews focused on his red, swollen erection, seemed unperturbed by the news.

“It doesn’t bother him. He doesn’t know what amputation means,” said vet Luc Lambrecht, adding that Mozart’s sexual activity should be undimmed by the operation.

“I don’t think so. That’s all in his head.”

I’m happy to report that the Reuters report doesn’t contain any pictures of swollen, red, iguana junk, so it’s safe for work. I don’t know which is sillier - the fact that someone gave the iguana Viagra, or the fact that some (presumedly different) person can assert, apparently straight-faced, that his sexual performance is all in his head.

[Wik] This posting might be mis-titled - the iguana doesn’t seem to actually have been too embarrassed by this malpractice.

[Alsø wik] I wonder what role the physiology of the iguana plays in the psychology of penis envy?

[Alsø alsø wik] The Reuters article might just as logically been entitled “Never Give an Iguana a Lit M-80 for Lunch”, come to think of it.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Life’s Embarrassments

Just heard, in a phone conversation with my buddy Ian:

He was speaking with a friend of his, during an event today in Orlando, and they discussed the fertility specialist that the friend and his wife were seeing, due to their difficulty conceiving a child.

His friend went in to visit the specialist, and the nurse handed him a cup and asked him to produce a specimen.  After heading down to a fairly generic restroom and grabbing a stall, he did so, bringing the cup back to the nurse.

Who looked at it and said “No, I needed a urine specimen”.

Ian asked him “So what did you do then?”.  Turns out he just left, utterly crushed by embarrassment, though he’s since recovered after realizing that what he did, wanted or not, was something he’d been practicing his whole life for. 

Ever the clown/instigator, Ian pointed out to him that he’d handled it all wrong, and should instead have replied “What do you think this is?”

Monday, January 08, 2007

Ok, you’d have to expect that

I guess killing all those cats caught up to him.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Oops, I did it again

It is natural for us to assume that the attractive and wealthy are actually stupid.  This is a face saving gesture, for otherwise, how are we to accept the fact that we, with our much greater intelligence and savvy, are not rolling in bling and surrounded by attractive and loose-moralled members of the opposite sex?  In at least once case, however, this is not the truth.  Witness, Britney Spears’ Guide to Semiconductor Physics.

[Wik] I have been warned that the above-referenced website may, in places, be unsafe for work.  Meaning, there may be tits and whatnot in plain view.  I have not perused the entire site, as my interest in semi-conductor physics is only slightly higher than my interest in Ms. Spears.  So, take whatever measures you feel are appropriate for your continued safe employment.

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